Monday, June 18, 2007

Fathers' Day/Fortune...

What a weekend. I can't even tell you the incredible things that are going on...but here's a peak:

So, a while back we heard the "Wheel-Mobile" was coming to town. They were doing auditions for "Wheel of Fortune" right here in Decatur, IL!! People drove from all over the state, we stood in line for an hour or so...filled out an application, and waited. They called names from the crowd at random to play the game on stage with a few others, and the rest of us cheered obnoxiously to be noticed. I was never called up. I figured my chance was gone. A few weeks later, I received an e-mail telling me I was chosen for a final audition in Springfield; which I can only guess was based on my paper application. (I tried to sound as interesting as possible.) So a little over a week ago I attended an audition with about 60 others where we played a "mini-round" (I won a hat by solving a puzzle), took a 5-minute written test solving as many puzzles as possible, and had our pictures taken. They narrowed the crowd to 12, and we played one more round. Then they told us we were free to leave, and if we were chosen, we would receive a letter in the mail within 2 weeks. 2 Days ago, I got my letter!!!! I'M GOING ON WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!! (applause) So of course, now I've got to brush up on my hangman skillz, and raise money for a trip to Los Angeles (nothing is paid for, unfortunately). The letter told me that I'll get a phone call in the next 18 months telling me when they need me. I may have as little as 14 days notice before I'm needed out there. But we definitely think it's worth rearranging our schedule for this opportunity to pay off a credit card or two. :) So yeah...mad SHOUT OUT to my boy CHAD, who's also a youth pastor from Decatur...who was chosen as well! Maybe we'll even get to travel together!

A few more random thoughts. Yesterday was Fathers' Day. My incredible wife bought me the Detroit Redwings' DVD I've been wanting, and my daughter made a small fatherly collage for me. :) I'm learning so much daily about life/love/parenthood/ministry/etc...from all of this. Thanks God. Realizing lately how "amusing" our culture is. "Muse" meaning "to think"...and the prefix "a-" giving it a negative connotation. Seriously, so much of what surrounds us is devoted to helping us NOT think. We laugh, we smile, we waste precious minutes of the time/lives we've been given. Granted - life should be enjoyed. Life is meant to be an incredible and "full" experience. But how many of our smiles on a daily basis come because of something that would make God smile? Sorry for the random depth. But we walked around the "Steamboat Festival" in Peoria on Friday night, and I observed SOOOO many smiles. Some were great, and easy to take joy in....others I was a little offended by....and others were obviously fake. So many people smiling for so many reasons. Are we simply being "a-mused"? May we all be aware of the things we're smiling about...and aim for the Joy of the Kingdom. :) (at the same time, realizing how excited I am about going on a show where I could make a chunk of money from spinning a wheel and shouting some letters....and TONS of people will watch and be a-mused)...:) Praying that God smiles on my life...